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“Cait Sith?” Lunafreya repeated, gazing thoughtfully down into the cup of tea she held with both hands.
Even now, she still trembled, although it was nowhere near as bad as it had been earlier when he and Ravus had first found her and Aranea. The soup he had given her hadn’t done much to warm her up, but with an Astral like Shiva bonded to her, he didn’t expect much would.
“Indeed. I was hoping you would know more or that Lady Shiva would more forthcoming.” Ignis leaned back in his own seat, crossing his legs with his ankle over his knee.
Lunafreya hummed before pursing her lips in a way that killed that hope. “While that may sometimes hold true, I’m afraid that there are many things that draw her attention. Including… my ailing mother.” She took a small tentative sip of the tea.
Ignis chose not to comment on the very brief hesitation in her voice when speaking of her mother. It wasn’t his place, but Ravus’ to speak with Lunafreya on such things. Especially as part of why Lunafreya had come to Altissia in the first place had been to gain access to her mother through Ravus.
Or perhaps that had been Aranea’s agenda; and Lunafreya’s had simply been to find her brother.
...It wasn’t Ignis’ place to wonder such things.
In any case, Lunafreya’s words did little to restore his hope. If anything, it further ensured his hope was gone. It seemed that this Shiva was truly more weakened than the one of his reality. “So much for that.”
“All may not be lost.” Lunafreya assured him, with a small, tired smile that barely reached her eyes. “Gentiana shared quite a bit of lost knowledge with me in our previous reality. I cannot say with any certainty how it holds up here but… it’s a start.”
“Any information could be of great help.” Ignis commented.
“Of course.” She nodded. “She didn’t speak of the other Messengers much, but she did mention him at least once that I can recall. She spoke of him as a fortune teller of sorts, unaffiliated with a specific Astrals much like Carbuncle or Pryna and Umbra.”
Unaffiliated? Ignis blinked at the knowledge and after a moment to process, furrowed his eyebrows. “There are Messengers unaffiliated with the Astrals?” To him, that seemed… strange. Wasn’t the job of the Messengers to work on behalf of their affiliated Astral?
Admittedly, he didn’t know much of Messengers, but he thought he knew that much at least.
“It’s not surprising you did not know.” She reached out and placed a hand on his knee. There was a slight chill strong enough to feel through the fabric of his pants. “Not many are familiar with the lore of the Messengers.” She removed her hand. “There’s only six unaffiliated: Carbuncle, Pryna, Umbra, Cait Sith, Madeen, and Valfor. They each represent guardianship over specific aspects: Dreams, Space, Time, Fate, Knowledge, and Faith.”
Carbuncle! That had been the name of the little green fox in the citadel. He thought it had seemed familiar! Noctis had collected quite a few things in its homage. “I’ve met with Carbuncle.”
Lunafreya gave him another one of those tired smiles and laughed into her tea. “As I suspect all who have traveled from our reality have. I cannot be certain, but as a guardian of dreams, I believe he has the ability to better transverse boundaries others cannot.”
Boundaries like between realities. Well, that made a bit more sense as to why Carbuncle had been with the Astrals in the fake-Citadel.
As for the others on the list… he supposed Pryna and Umbra being a guardian over aspects such as time and space would explain how they were always able to find Noctis and deliver messages in such timely manners. The others, however, were new to Ignis.
Cait Sith, the guardian over fate, was the only one who’s name Ignis was familiar with and only because it was the one Ramuh requested them to find. If they were to change things, shouldn’t they seek out Madeen for Knowledge?
They knew Noctis’ fate. What good would seeking out a fortune teller and Guardian of Fate do for them?
“I don’t understand why we’re to seek out Cait Sith.” Lunafreya’s eyebrows were knitted together as she mused aloud, unknowingly echoing Ignis’ very thoughts. “He’s a fortune teller, not a fighter. Not a teacher.”
Ignis hummed and tapped his fingers against the armrest. They being there was sure to bring about changes. “Perhaps we are to meet with the Fortune Teller to learn the fate that our existence will bring about?”
Lunafreya tapped a finger against the glass of the cup. “It’s possible. Shiva did say that things could be different here.”
Different? “Well, that settles that, I would think.”
“I am not as certain.” Lunafreya argued. “We know Noctis’ fate, and while things may be different, I doubt it was meant in a way that would benefit him.” She rolled her lips and bowed her head so deeply that Ignis couldn’t see her face. She allowed herself a moment before taking a shuddering breath and looking back up at Ignis. “No, I think meeting Cait Sith is just a means to end. But to what, I know not.”
“I suppose we will learn once we come across this Fortune Teller. Do you have any ideas as to where he may hide?”
“Honestly?” She sighed. “We’re in Altissia. I can think of no other place he would hide. Yet the places one may hide in the city are… numerous.”
Numerous was one way to put it, Ignis supposed. He sighed. Why couldn’t the Astrals ever give them an easy task?
~
It took a week of searching – a task made only significantly slightly difficult by Ravus and Aranea’s shared overprotection of Lunafreya – before they officially hit rock bottom with ideas of where to look. Altissia was huge, and a week simply wasn’t enough time to cover it all.
Especially when there were other, equally if not more, pressing matters to attend to, like introducing Weskham to Lunafreya and Aranea, assuring Weskham that she was legit, hearing out Aranea’s (frankly crazy) plan to sit upon the throne of Niflheim, and much more.
Shiva had told Lunafreya that things could be different, and while she didn’t believe it extended to Noctis… there was certainly truth to those words. For everything was very different from their reality as far as Ignis was concerned.
It was almost overwhelming sometimes. As overwhelming as the city was when attempting to find a Messenger that neither he nor Lunafreya knew much of anything about.
He sat down upon the rim of the ‘Leviathan Monument’ in Listro Park and idly wondered how Bismarck felt that the statue on the fountain, which clearly depicted them, was considered by many to be Leviathan. Actually, he wondered how Leviathan felt about that, seeing that as a Messenger, Bismarck was technically a ‘lower’ lifeform in her eyes.
Prompto would probably know considering his new status as Leviathan’s Bonded.
In any case, Ignis never planned to bring up his query to the Goddess of the Sea. He experienced her wrath once, and that was more than enough for a thousand lifetimes.
Lunafreya sat down beside him and rotated her ankles twice before reaching down to massage them. “I’m not used to so much walking anymore.” She muttered. Ignis wasn’t sure if he was meant to hear or not, and thus kept silence as a direct response.
“There’s a myth about this statue that if you toss a paper bird into its mouth, you’ll have the wish written on the bird come true.” Ignis informed her. Lunafreya half spun and looked up at him with big bright eyes.
“Really?” She asked, leaning forward into his space. “How do you know of this? Did Noctis make a wish?”
The corner of Ignis’ lips twitched upwards. “Indeed, he did. However, before you ask, he did not share it.”
“I would never think to ask.” She returned back to her own personal space and crossed her arms like she was pouting. It was an action that he imagined she picked up from Prompto. She was quiet for all of a moment before she was standing again.
“I know!” She smiled at him; this time the smile actually showing in her eyes. “We should make a wish to find that fortune teller!”
Ignis fought the initial response to frown. “You can only wish once in your life.” He advised her. “Are you sure that you’d want to use it on this?”
Lunafreya rocked back on her feet and clasped her hands behind her back. She hummed as her gaze traced the statue behind Ignis.
“There are many things I could wish for.” She admitted after a moment. “Happiness for Ravus, for Noctis to wake up, for the scourge to be gone…. A chance to meet someone.” The last part was almost whispered. “But there are more important things in life than my wants. My duties will always come first.” She smiled at him, and it hurt to see that some of that joy from before had dimmed. “Besides, we don’t know that this myth holds any truth. It wouldn’t hurt to try.”
“Very well.” Ignis nodded. “There’s a vendor around here that sells paper. I suppose we could spare some coin for that.”
Ignis stood up and moved towards where he thought he remembered a vendor being, but Lunafreya stayed put, facing the fountain and staring at where Ignis had been sitting. After a moment, she tilted her head to the side.
“Where do the letters go?” Lunafreya asked. She took a few steps closer until her knees brushed against the rim of the fountain around the statue. Her mouth dropped just enough for her lips to part as she gasped. “There’s a hollow tube there!” She looked back at Ignis. “What if…”
Ignis looked at the statue and then back at the princess and fought the urge to decline the theory he thought she was going with. Unfortunately, he had spent a roadtrip with Noctis and knew exactly how such things in life went in regard to Astrals and Messengers.
He bowed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose as he exhaled in a sign of mental defeat. “We’ll check it out tonight.”
“Perfect! And if it doesn’t work out, then I can use my wish, agreed?”
Ignis didn’t bother responding. They both knew that the chances of a mysterious hidden tube under a ‘wishing’ statue of a Messenger was highly likely to lead them to where they wanted to go. Or at the very least, point them in the correct direction.
Nighttime came slowly, and when it finally did come, it took even longer until most of the people had cleared out of the square. Lunafreya scarcely waited for the last person to disappear down the stairs before stepping into the water. It came up about mid-ankle, and she splashed as she made her way to the center of the structure.
“Lunafreya!” Ignis called after her. He grimaced as he climbed in after, the water soaking through his shoes – which weren’t waterproof boots as Lunafreya’s were – and also soaking up the bottoms of his pants. “Please be careful.”
She looked over her shoulder at him, and smiled. “There is a tube here! Large enough for a person.”
…Ignis had been around both Prompto and Noctis long enough to know exactly what she was going to do. He hoped she wouldn’t. He prayed she wouldn’t. She was a princess – not that being a prince had ever stopped Noctis – and… there she went.
One moment she was standing half in the structure, and the next, she was gone.
“Six.” Ignis swore before diving down after her.
~
The first thing Ignis noticed was the very… jazzy and blues kind of music that seemed to be playing from nowhere and everywhere in particular. It was a jaunty but smooth kind of song that Ignis was certain that Prompto would have hummed had he known it.
It was fortunate that Prompto did not know it.
The second thing he noticed was… well…
“Aye, ye here to get ya fortunes?” Ignis blinked at the dancing, bipedal, talking cat and wondered if he had somehow hit his head and was hallucinating this. The strange accent the creature spoke with certainly didn’t help prove otherwise.. The cat titled his head and the crown resting on top slid until it was hanging by one ear. How it didn’t just fall off was beyond him.
Ignis had landed on something soft and surprisingly dry. As a matter of fact, everything was dry down here… including himself. Lunafreya sat barely a foot away from him, looking at the cat with a smile that was more than a little strained.
“I am—”
“The latest Messenger of the Ice Queen and future Oracle, ye I know.” The cat interrupted. “And that lad there the latest Messenger of the Lightning Judge. I know who ye are. Now, are ya here to get ya fortunes?”
“You’re Cait Sith?” The words slipped out of Ignis’ mouth before he could stop them. Really, he shouldn’t be as surprised as he was. There were some very non-humanoid Messengers out there. Like Carbuncle, Pryna, Umbra, and Bismarck. But he hadn’t anticipated something so… cartoony.
“That I am!” The cat jumped off the table it had been standing on and landed before Ignis. He belated noticed it was wearing oversized white gloves and brown boots. It bowed deep enough that the red blanket tied around its neck like a cape flipped over its head.
Some part of him wondered if the crown had been knocked off or if it was just… stuck to the cat’s head. The cat straightened back out and grinned at Ignis. Its crown was back to being perfectly centered on its head. “At yer service. If ya want a fortune that is.”
“Um.” At the sound of Lunafreya’s voice, the cat turned its attention back to her.
“Aye, lass?”
…
This was the craziest thing Ignis thought he might have ever encountered. And that was saying something considering the trouble Noctis and Prompto had often dragged the group into while traveling.
The music finally finished, the volume lowering until there was silence long enough to mark the end. And then it repeated.
“We’re not here—”
“But of course ye are! Where else would ye be if not here?” The cat asked.
“What I mean to say—"
“Say what ye mean!”
“Will you let me speak!?” Lunafreya snapped, her cheeks flushing as she realized that she had just yelled at a Messenger. The cat rolled back on his heels and rocked, letting the silence hang in the air. Lunafreya stared at it. Ignis stared at it.
Nothing happened. The music looped again.
Lunafreya shot a somewhat bewildered look to Ignis, and then returned her gaze to the cat. She cleared her throat. “We’re not here for a fortune.” She exhaled sharply at the end of her sentence; no doubt relieved to have finally gotten one out.
The cat frowned. Ignis didn’t think he had ever seen a cat frown before, but he was not. “Not here for a fortune!?” The cat exclaimed. “But of course ye are!”
“We were told to find you.” Lunafreya informed the cat.
“For a fortune!” The cat cried out.
“No!” She inhaled deeply and exhaled. Then, calmer, she said, “I think we might be here for Knowledge.”
“Knowledge.” The cat repeated incredulously. “Like… Knowledge of the Future? Like, oh, I dun’t know... ah fortune?”
“No.” She shook her head. “We already know the fate to come. We need to know how to change it.”
The cat stared at her before putting its oversized gloved hands? paws? on its hips. “Do I look like Madeen to ya?” It asked as it leaned into the princess’ personal space.
To her credit, Lunafreya didn’t react beyond to answer: “We don’t know where Madeen is.”
“Not to be rude,” The cat now only rested one gloved paw on its hip while the other pointed at Lunafreya. Ignis thought the statement was hilarious if only because the cat had been nothing but rude. “but that sounds an awful lot like ah ‘you’ problem.”
“What if we want a fortune that tells us where Madeen is?” Lunafreya asked. It was worth a try, but Ignis didn’t see it working.
“Hmm.” The cat tapped a ‘finger’ against its chin. “No can do. Ye can’t just make the fortunes whatever ya want. Defeats the purpose!”
Oh yeah, Ignis didn’t see that coming. Not at all.
The music looped again. Ignis was going to find the source and change it.
“Ramuh sent us.” Ignis tried. He would see if that line of reasoning settled with the creature. Although its eyes had yet to open, it gave Ignis a very flat look. This was it. Cats were officially ruined for him. He would never be able to look at another cat again and not see this smug, irritating creature.
“So?” The cat sung. “I don’t care if Etro herself sent ye. If ya don’t want a fortune, I got nothing for ya.”
…Did Ignis want to ask what Etro was? Did he really want to take that bait and dive down the hole of craziness?
“Etro?” Lunafreya did, apparently.
“Ye don’t know who Etro is!?” The cat all but shrieked. Lunafreya glanced at Ignis and then back at the cat.
“Maybe we would, if we could talk to Madeen.” Lunafreya suggested slyly.
The cat was quiet for a long moment. “Nu-uh. Nope. Nada. No. I give out fortunes, do ye hear me? Fortunes.”
“Fine then.” Ignis snapped. “Give us a fortune.”
The cat perked up immediately. “Ye want a fortune!?”
The music looped again.
Ignis fought very, very hard not to snap more than he already had at the creature. No wonder it stayed hidden in the ruins under Altissia. If it was out and about, it surely wouldn’t have lasted long. Six knew that were Gladio with them now, the creature wouldn’t have survived this long.
“That is what I said.”
“Alright then!” The cat pulled a megaphone out of… somewhere and cheered into it. Both Ignis and Lunafreya cringed. The megaphone disappeared, like it never existed at all. And then the cat danced around in a circle to the infuriating music.
The cat finished as the music quieted, and as the loop began again, a piece of paper literally ‘poofed’ out of thin air. The cat caught it and handed it to Ignis.
“’Be careful of forgetfulness. Your lucky color is...amber’?” Ignis read aloud, then looked up at the cat with an arched eyebrow. The cat shrugged. Ignis did not throw the paper down, although he did let go of it and watch as it drifted to the floor. “This was a waste of time.”
“I can see why the Lightning Judge chose ye. Ya certainly criticize as quick as he did; but you know what they say…” The creature slapped both of its hands over its closed eyes. “Justice is Blind.”
Ignis froze. That… had to be just a lucky coincidence for the cat. It wasn’t like it could know that he had been blind in the previous reality. The cat admitted that it wasn’t Knowledge, but still… it made Ignis suddenly very, very uneasy.
It appeared the cat knew this, for it just grinned at him.
“Um. Perhaps I may have my fortune?” Lunafreya interrupted the silence. The cat jumped from foot to foot and spun around in a full circle plus some to look at her.
“Of course, lass!” Once again, there was a megaphone; and then just like before, it was gone. The cat danced to the music, and then poof, there was a piece of paper.
“’The moon's light eternal brings a promise with bounty and grace.’” Lunafreya read out. She glanced at Ignis. “It’s better than yours.” She teased, obviously trying to find something good in this ridiculous situation. Ignis scowled at her.
“Aye! Ye do have the Ice Queen’s bountiful grace.”
Ignis ignored the cat. “This was a waste of time.” He repeated.
“Ach! So harsh.” The cat commented. It looked over to Lunafreya and grinned. “You’d be better off with someone warm, lass. Electrifying is good and all, but he needs someone to ground him.”
“Oh.” Lunafreya blinked and then looked between Ignis and the cat with a look that Ignis did not appreciate. It was the same look she gave before climbing into the fountain, before going down the tube to wherever this place was.
“Yes. I suppose he does. I don’t suppose you know anyone warm for me?”
“I’m a Fortune Teller, lass. Not a Librarian. I already told ye.”
“Yes, yes I suppose you did.” She smiled at the creature. It was too syrupy to be real, but the creature preened under it. “I don’t suppose we could get another fortune?”
“Ye want another?”
“No.” Ignis said at the same time Lunafreya said, “Yes!”
The cat looked between them and rested its gloved paws on its hips again. “What’ll it be then?” It cocked its head the to the side, and once more, the crown slid until it was holding on by one ear. Ignis fought the ridiculous urge to correct the crown.
“No.” Ignis growled.
“Just one more.” Lunafreya ignored him. “I don’t want one for us, but one for the world. Do you think you can do that? Please, Cait Sith?
“I don’t know, lass.” The cat’s tail lashed from behind it. “Last time I did that…” The cat trailed off and looked to the side. The jaunty music came to an abrupt halt, and then, perhaps more jarring than the sudden silence was the somber tones that filled the cavern.
The last time Ignis had heard these particular notes, it had been in a happier arrangement for Founder’s Day. Yet despite the tonal difference, there was no denying that he was hearing Lucis’ national anthem; “’Somnus’?”
Another difference between the song Ignis knew and this one quickly made itself apparent as a feminine voice started to sing. Her voice was like nothing he had ever heard before, and it seemed to echo with an otherworldly quality.
“Dues Dormit. Et liberi ignem faciunt.”
The electricity from Ramuh buzzed under his skin, more insistent and annoying than ever before as the Fulgurian’s attention snapped to him nearly instantly. Beside him, Lunafreya shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. He could hear her teeth begin to chatter.
The cat jumped, and its tail swished wildly. The music changed again, just as abruptly, to the annoying tune from before. Just as instantaneously as the Astral’s attention had been on him, it was gone. Did the music… keep the attention of the Astrals away? Was it some sort of shield to protect the cat from them? “Ye should both leave.”
“No.” Lunafreya shook her head. “We were sent to you for a reason. The King of Kings is to drive the darkness from our Star, and it is your duty as a Messenger to provide aid in whatever way you can.”
The cat was quiet. Its tail continued to swish violently behind it.
“Who was that singing?” Ignis asked.
The cat was still quiet. Then, after a long moment, its shoulders slumped, and it sighed. All signs of its previous cheerful disposition suddenly gone. “Etro.” It replied after a few moments later. “She’s singing a fortune I made a long time ago.”
“Could you tell us it?” Lunafreya asked. “Or let it continue to play?”
“Ye won’t understand it. It’s in Solarian.”
“Then a translation?” Ignis suggested. The cat’s ears folded back until they were flat.
“Ya should really be going to Madeen for this.” The cat complained. “I can’t translate it for yeh, but I suppose I could give yeh the words.” The cat grimaced as it pulled out it’s megaphone again. Once more it completed its dance, except unlike the previous time, a scroll dropped into Lunafreya’s hands instead of a slip of paper.
The cat made a ‘go on’ gesture, and after a brief moment of hesitation highlighted by the slightest nibbling of her lip, she unrolled it. Ignis blinked as the script blazed gold before settling into a matte black that glimmered the faintest of blue when Lunafreya tilted the scroll.
Deus dormit et liberi ignem faciunt, numquam extinguunt ne expergisci possit. Omnia dividit tragoedia, coram amandum quae. Et nocte perpetua, in desperatione, auroram videre potest amne tempus expergiscendi.
The most known about anything from Solheim was carefully gleaned from dangerous ruins, but the script was familiar to something he might have seen while crawling the dungeons with Noctis and the others.
Out of their merry band of four, Ignis was, admittedly, the most likely to be able to understand the script, followed by maybe Gladiolus on account of how much he read. Yet Ignis could only make out maybe a few of the words.
Nocte was the first thing that caught his eye if only because of its incredible similarity to Noctis. Was this Solarian prophecy talking about him? Was this prophecy the reason they had been sent here, or was it truly just a pitstop to a different Messenger as Lunafreya had thought?
Ignis tapped on ‘nocte’ on the scroll and dragged his gaze up to the cat. “Is this about Noctis?”
The cat shrugged. “It’s impossible to tell what a fortune may refer to till it has come to pass.” The cat replied.
“I don’t suppose you know of anyone besides Madeen who could translate?” Ignis asked. The cat twitched.
“Do I look like ah moogle to yeh?” It snapped at him. “If yeh want information, go to Madeen.”
…So Madeen was a moogle. Honestly, Ignis should have seen that coming. Moogle LLC had existed since around the time of the Lucis’ founding, starting out first as libraries before expanding out into bookstores. With the advent of technology, they blossomed into the mega corporation most known for the search features.
Madeen, the Guardian of Knowledge, was a Moogle; which besides being a mystical creature was also the mascot of the search engine company by the same name.
Come to think of it, hadn’t the cat also said something about Madeen being a librarian?
…Why did he have the sudden sinking suspicion that he was going to have to dive into corporate waters to find Madeen?
“We would if you would tell us whe-” Ignis couldn’t even finish his statement before the cat’s tail puffed right up. It pointed at Ignis, and the expression on its face was best described as indignation.
“That’s it! I’ve had enough of ye and ya judgement! No better than Ramuh, I say. No better!”
“Cait Sith!” Lunafreya shouted back at it. “You are obligated to help the King of Kings.”
“Phooey.” The cat spat down on the ground. “I have no such obligation! I serve Etro and Eos alone. Not their children, and certainly not their children’s war and mistakes.”
Eos. That was a new name, wasn’t it? Etro was the singer of the haunting version of Somnus, but Eos… besides it being the name of their planet, Ignis couldn’t think of anything significant with it. Unless the cat meant that it served Etro and the planet alone.
But it said, ‘not their children’.
…
Were there more Astrals than Cosmogony had claimed? Was this ‘Etro’ and ‘Eos’ the parents of the Astrals. Did that make them Astrals as well? Did that make the Astrals all related?
“Fine.” Lunafreya’s tone was anything but nice. “We’ll be going on our way then. Thank you for your time, Cait Sith.”
The cat grumbled something under its breath, then jumped up to an archway and disappeared into the darkness. The annoying music, thankfully, followed it. Ignis inhaled, exhaled and turned to the princess.
“That went well.” He commented dryly. It was difficult to tell in the darkness, but he thought Lunafreya might have shot him a scathing look. Or perhaps it was shot in the general direction of where the cat had run off to.
“We know more than when we came in here.” She said. “We know Madeen is a Librarian. We know that there’s a prophecy that likely predates the one from Cosmogony and might refer to Noctis.”
“We know Madeen is a moogle.” Ignis added, “and possibly related to Moogle, the company.”
“The search engine?” Lunafreya tapped her chin with her finger and then nodded. “That does make sense after some thought.” She hummed, and then held out the scroll. “You should take this. Altissia has the Festival of Dreams every year and typically the theme is Chocobos and Moogles. Maybe Madeen will make an appearance?”
“Covering our bases?” Ignis raised an eyebrow, but accepted the scroll, nonetheless. Her fingers lingered as he took it, like she didn’t want to give it up. Not that he could blame her. They had gone through quite an irritating task to obtain it, although in terms of the Astrals, this task had been quite easy.
“It doesn’t hurt.” She replied. “The Festival of Dreams, in the city where Cait Sith lives underneath, and a common theme being Moogles, the species of the Guardian of knowledge. Altissia is something of a Cosmogony hotspot it seems. You may get lucky.”
She took a few steps in the direction opposite of the one the cat had gone in. “Besides, I won’t be long in the city now that we’ve found Ravus. Aranea’s worried about… a lot of things.”
Ignis’ initial thought was that Aranea was worried about Lunafreya, but there was something about the way that she said it that made him think twice. “Prompto?” He guessed after a few moments of walking.
“He’s certainly part of it. The upcoming communications with Tenebrae through Ravus make her nervous too.” She sighed and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I wish I could help her more but…” She trailed off, and Ignis knew enough of royalty to let the matter lie.
Gladiolus might have pursued it. Prompto definitely would have. But Ignis wouldn’t. Not unless she gave an indication that she wanted him to; and the lingering silence did not give any such.
Thankfully, they didn’t have to walk long before they came to an area with a ladder where light shined down from above. As it always seemed when dungeon crawling, the way out was always easier than the way in.
In any case, he couldn’t claim the trip to be a complete waste. The prophecy, while physically light, was a heavy weight in his pocket.